“Yes, my back hurts, but it always hurts these days.” The words were tired, thin. “And yes, I’m sure I’m not hungry. I’ve got a headache is all, and the fire’s too bright. I’ll just keep my eyes closed a bit. I’mfine, it just feels better to sit with my eyes closed.
Alarm bells went off in Willow’s brain.Backache. Headache. Light sensitivity.She turned on instinct, moving toward the couple where they sat close to the fire, close enough to keep the human mate warm while the wolf wrapped an arm around her.
Willow crouched low beside them, ignoring Carl’s sharp look. “Can I talk to you for a second?” she asked gently, touching Angie’s hand and noticing more swelling than normal. “I’m a nurse.”
Angie cracked one eye open, managed a wan smile. “It’s just pregnancy. Everyone says the last few months are like this.”
Willow shook her head, all business now. “Not like this. You’ve got swelling in your ankles, don’t you? Can I look?”
The woman shook her head but Carl said, “Yes. Please.”
So she lifted the bottom of Angie’s pants, pressed a finger against the woman’s shin, and her stomach sank when flesh dimpled and held.Fuck.
“Can you tell me about your vision? You said the fire’s too bright? How about the lights on the tree and house?”
“I don’t like looking at them. They’re blurry and hazy, and it hurts my head to try to focus. It’s easier to just keep my eyes closed or look off towards the forest.”
Willow didn’t hesitate, but immediately snapped out a telepathic order to Kenny.Sir, we have a problem. I need you to link me to Carl so I can telepath him without freaking Angie out. He’s going to have to get her to the hospital, or he’ll lose both her and the baby.
Three seconds later, he answered,Think it at him. If it doesn’t work you’ll have to relay it through me.
She looked at Carl and telepathed,It’s preeclampsia. Her blood pressure is too high. If you wait, she could seize. The baby could die. She could die. You need to drive her to the hospital now. It’s faster than waiting for an ambulance out here. What’s the best way to tell her?
He looked at his wife, at Willow, and back to his wife.
“My wolf keeps telling me something isn’t right, and Willow’s a nurse, and thinks you need the hospital. A precaution, sweetheart. I know you hate doctors, but we’re going.”
He picked his wife up, cradled her to his chest, and headed away from the fire, toward the car, and Willow chased after them.
Put her on her left side on the back seat! Not her back. Not sitting up. Left side!
Willow stood, watched them leave at a high rate of speed, and turned into Kenny when he touched her shoulder. His arms went around her, and she closed her eyes. Rested her head on his chest.
“Thank you, Sir. I’m sorry if I was sharp with you.”
“We don’t interfere with your job, and I feel like that’s what this was. You went into nurse mode, leaving the fucktoy persona behind.” He kissed her forehead, and she could feel him smirking without needing to see his face. “Besides, you still called meSirwhile you were barking orders in my head.”
His voice went serious. “Angie had a miscarriage two years ago at nearly five months. Opting to tell Carl and not her was absolutely the right way to go.”
“Will Carl call and keep you updated?”
“His sister’s here. He’ll tell her, she’ll tell the rest of us.”
Shit, she hadn’t found out where he was taking her. She stepped back and met Kenny’s gaze. “Can you still telepath him?”
He nodded.
“Find out where he’s taking her. I’ll call them and let them know what they have incoming.”
Twenty seconds later, he told her which hospital, and thankfully one she sometimes works at. She made the call, got a nurse she knew, gave Angie’s prior history and her diagnosis, and felt a little steadier when she hung up.
On the way back to the bonfire, after a few people asked her questions, she realized she needed to make it a group thing,so she stepped closer to the largest congregation of people and raised her voice enough all the wolves would hear.
“It’s my job to protect privacy, and I’ve been around ya’ll long enough to know that concept doesn’t exist in a wolfpack, but please let me just tell you what preeclampsia is, without talking about Angie. Does that work?”
“It works,” Kenny said.
Willow nodded and told them the basics. “It affects seven percent of pregnancies, which means ERs are familiar with it and know how to treat it. Odds are, she and the baby will be fine. Not a guarantee, but most of the time it can be stopped if you get to the hospital in time.
